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Successful island conservation is critical to achieving global biodiversity targets, but significant gaps remain in our understanding of how to effectively engage island communities in conservation efforts. Social and political factors often play a major role in decision‐making processes on inhabited islands, making effective community engagement critical. To better understand the issue, we conducted an international survey of practitioners across 43 islands to understand how they engage with local communities and which methods they consider to be most effective to support their conservation goals. Most respondents used at least one form of community engagement, many using five or more different methods. Communicative and consultative modes of engagement were most commonly used, which require fewer resources and less intensive participation by the community, while only half used the more demanding collaborative approaches to engagement. Indigenous co‐management was reported by practitioners to be the most effective method for positive engagement and to support conservation outcomes, and was implemented on two‐thirds of islands with an indigenous population. Our study supports the view that practitioners consider community engagement an important part of island conservation management, but that there is a tendency for practitioners to rely on one‐way communication, rather than more resource intensive, collaborative approaches to working with communities. Future research should investigate how the communities themselves perceive different engagement methods to gain the full picture of engagement effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Invasive rodents pose a substantial threat to biodiversity and are a leading cause of species decline and extinction on islands. Population suppression using ground-based methods is common practice, though arboreal behaviour of rodents may render control programs less effective. Aims: We aimed to quantify species-specific invasive rodent activity (Rattus rattus , R. exulans , Mus musculus) across three forest strata to determine the prevalence of arboreal rodent behaviour in a system that has undergone extensive long-term rodent baiting, and therefore assess the suitability of solely ground-based baiting in this system. Methods: We calculated rodent presence at the ground, mid-storey, and canopy using three detection methods (camera traps, chew cards and tracking tunnels) deployed for 30-day periods across three structurally distinct forest types (canopy heights ranged from 3.5 to 16.7 m). We developed continuous rodent activity indices for each method, which we paired with density estimates. Strata-specific species composition was determined using camera trap images. Key results: Rodent presence was recorded equally across all strata, with R. rattus dominating above-ground strata. Rodent densities differed significantly between forest types, which was largely consistent with activity indices. Conclusions: Our findings offer an additional explanation for reduced efficacy of long-term ground-based control programs: arboreal behaviour may exacerbate the reduction in efficacy often associated with long-term control. Implications: Effective management of invasive rodent species on islands is a global conservation challenge. Our findings suggest above-ground control may be required in some long-term suppression programs or eradication campaigns, particularly in the presence of the black rat. Introduced rodents are highly destructive island invaders the world over. Control programs are usually ground-based, however our study found that black rats (Rattus rattus) dominated the forest mid-storey and canopy, casting doubt on the effectiveness of solely ground-based programs. Including above-ground control in the conservationist's rodent control arsenal may improve outcomes for island biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess the potential of Asobara japonica Belokobylskij (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) as a biological control agent for the invasive Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae), key biological traits were evaluated: preference and suitability of different host ages, relative performance on two host species (D. suzukii and Drosophila melanogaster Meigen), female life-time fecundity and egg maturation on the two host species, and parasitism levels on D. suzukii larvae infesting different host fruits (blackberry, cherry and strawberry). Asobara japonica preferred young over old hosts, and although host age did not affect offspring survival, parasitoid offspring developed faster in older than younger hosts but had a reduced body size. There was higher A. japonica offspring survival, longer developmental time, and larger body when reared from D. suzukii than D. melanogaster. Female wasps emerged with around one third of their lifetime egg load and matured eggs rapidly with mature egg load reaching a peak 2-3 d post-emergence. Large females (typically reared from D. suzukii) contained more mature eggs than small females (typically from D. melanogaster). During their lifetime, A. japonica females produced 117.4 and 92.5 progeny on D. suzukii and D. melanogaster, respectively, with a corresponding intrinsic rate of increase of 0.217 and 0.210, respectively. Progeny were strongly female-biased (> 90% females), regardless of host age or species. This larval parasitoid was able to develop from D. suzukii infesting cherry, blackberry or strawberry. This information may help improve protocols for the rearing and future evaluations of this parasitoid for a potential biological control program against D. suzukii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]